In an article that lends further support to my argument that nuclear energy makes sense for the Gulf States, London’s The Times reports that those states are now looking to import cheaper coal to power their industries and infrastructure. The Gulf States are themselves major consumers of their own petroleum products. The article notes that the UAE is, in fact, facing shortages in natural gas.

Incidentally, while I’m sure that the writer meant it in jest, ‘selling sand to the Saudis’ is a fact. The sands of Saudi Arabia aren’t right for use in construction. The weathered sand is too smooth to work as one of the aggregates in concrete, so the Saudi do have to import sand… a particular kind of sand.

Gulf states may soon need coal imports to keep the lights on
Carl Mortished

They are countries so rich in oil and gas that they would never want for fuel to drive their booming economies and the lavish lifestyles of their rulers.

Now, however, in a role reversal that makes selling sand to Saudi Arabia look like a sensible business transaction, the oil-rich Gulf states are planning to import coal.

An acute shortage of natural gas has led to the city states of the United Arab Emirates seeking alternative fuels to keep the air cool, the lights on and the water running.

Abu Dhabi is working with Suez, the French utility company, on a nuclear power project but coal is emerging as the best quick fix to avert blackouts as the world’s biggest hydrocarbon exporters struggle to cope with high prices for oil and natural gas, infrastructure weakness and a development boom. Some of the world’s biggest oil exporters may soon find themselves reliant on imported fuel from a leading coal exporter, such as South Africa.
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